Share This Story!

Donations for shooting victims roll in at cycle-thon

The wheels on nine stationary bikes at Badass Fitness stopped spinning only momentarily Saturday as nine groups of people raised money for the victims in the two major Tallahassee shootings just days apart last fall.

Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

Donations for shooting victims roll in at cycle-thon

Cycling Coach Karen Allen, right, leads a team of LCSO officers in a one-hour cycling class, part of an all-day CycleThon at Badass Fitness to raise money for the families of Farham "Ronny" Ahmed and LCSO Deputy Chris Smith.(Photo: Joe Rondone/Democrat)Buy Photo

The wheels on nine stationary bikes at Badass Fitness stopped spinning only momentarily Saturday as nine groups of people raised money for the victims in the two major Tallahassee shootings just days apart last fall.

The goal was to raise $18,000 to go toward recovery for Florida State University student Ronny Ahmed who was shot and paralyzed by a gunman the school's Strozier Library and to a family fund for Leon County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Smith who was slain in the line of duty.

Badass Fitness owner Shannon Colavecchio said before the nine-hour event started, the cycle-thon had raised $6,000 and the donations kept rolling in totaling $26,400 by the end of the day.

Stationary bike cycling isn't easy, Colavecchio said, but the donations, plus more than 200 people at the fitness studio throughout the day are "just so inspiring and it reminds you that Tallahassee is such a strong community."

"When it comes time to it and people need help, Tallahassee comes together time and again," she said.

Teams of people from across Tallahassee volunteered to cycle including FSU Women's basketball Coach Sue Semrau and Tallahassee Police Department officer Don Bracci who was hit by a car in Crawfordville while riding his bike in late October.

The money raised will be split between the two funds.

Leon County Sheriff Mike Wood and 11 other LCSO deputies were at the hands of a deputy's wife and cycling coach Karen Allen, who led the group.

"I saw a different side of her (Allen) today," Wood joked after his ride.

The enthusiastic atmosphere made the hour-long ride more enjoyable, Wood said, but the reason everyone showed up shows the character of Tallahassee.

"This is our community. Florida State University is Tallahassee and we're all one," he said. "I think it's good for the healing process and to demonstrate to the community that we care. We're not going to be defeated by senseless violence, simply put."